Bankruptcy

By Anya Kamenetz, Tribune Media Services and The Savings Game | February 12, 2013

Conventional wisdom has it that student loans, whether federal or private, are impossible to walk away from. However, recent research shows that's not the case. Jason Iuliano, a Princeton political science Ph.D. student who also has a degree from Harvard Law School, did a comprehensive search of bankruptcy cases in which borrowers sought to discharge student loans; he found that in four out of 10 cases, judges erased all or part of the debt. Here's the rub: Only 0.1 percent of student loan...

Gowex, a Madrid-based Wi-Fi provider that launched its free ad-supported service in Chicago less than two months ago, is filing for bankruptcy amid a financial scandal. Jenaro Garcia, founder and CEO of Gowex, resigned this week after admitting he inflated revenues at the publicly-traded Spanish company. He posted several tweets on July 6 accepting responsibility and apologizing. “I'm asking everyone for forgiveness,” Garcia tweeted in Spanish. “I'm sorry with...

I am writing in response to Mr. Cziczo's letter extolling the virtues of Donald Trump. In the letter, he praises Mr. Trump for his "record of accomplishment in the public sector. " Unfortunately, what was left out was the number of times Mr. Trump has taken his companies into bankruptcy -- this is not a good harbinger should he get elected, now, is it? -- Jim Jolley, Bolingbrook

(Reuters) - Holders of Detroit's $164 million of unsecured, limited-tax general obligation bonds would only get 34 percent of their investment back under the city's debt adjustment plan, according to a consultant's report released on Thursday. The 34 percent recovery listed in the July 8 report by Kenneth Buckfire, president of restructuring firm Miller Buckfire & Co, is higher than the estimated 10 percent to 13 percent rate Detroit outlined in its latest plan...

The debt ceiling crisis has been a game of political chicken. But however heated the debate got, it was always assumed that some kind of agreement would be reached before Tuesday's deadline. Failure didn't seem to be an option except for the unnamed bureaucrats who apparently prepared the following leaked document just in case it was needed: PETITION FOR BANKRUPTCY Name of debtor: The United States of America Type of debtor: Nation state Age: 235 ...

RIVERSIDE Calif. (Reuters) - The city of San Bernardino, California, set new deadlines in an effort to accomplish some measure of progress in a municipal bankruptcy case that has slowed to a crawl over the past two years. On Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Meredith Jury agreed to a series of dates presented by San Bernardino that outlined a roadmap for the city to negotiate with its police and fire unions. Under the new schedule, the city aims to propose a...

In an effort to forestall foreclosure on its downtown headquarters, the Lubavitch Chabad of the Loop, Gold Coast and Lincoln Park filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, buying additional time for a donor to bail the Orthodox Jewish organization out of financial straits. On Wednesday, the same day the brownstone on North Dearborn Avenue that houses Chabad was to go on the auction block, Rabbi Meir Chai Benhiyoun said the group had found a way to pay its debts. All the group needs is a little...

SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) - The judge in Stockton, California's bankruptcy on Tuesday ruled that the city has collateral worth $4 million with which it could pay holdout creditor Franklin Templeton, dismissing the city's contention its collateral was worthless. At the same time, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein made no ruling on Tuesday on whether the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or Calpers, should be made to accept less than the entire...

If General Motors Corp. were forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company would end up being liquidated because a long bankruptcy would scare customers away, Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Speaking at a breakfast, Wagoner said restructuring GM out of court would accomplish 99 percent of what could be achieved in bankruptcy, without the risk of losing customers or Chapter 11's huge expense. Critics of GM and Chrysler, which...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A creditor who hopes to rescue the bankrupt New York City Opera filed an objection on Monday to delays in consideration of his bid and called for an independent trustee to be put in charge. Businessman Gene Kaufman made an undisclosed offer six months ago to buy "the people's opera" and salvage the venerable cultural institution. He now says the opera's board is "stuck in neutral" nine months after filing for bankruptcy and canceling the season, and...

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.'s already-battered shares plunged further Thursday as investor fears deepened that a cash crunch may prompt the Chicago-based packaging company to seek bankruptcy protection. Smurfit officials declined to comment on a report in The Wall Street Journal, which cited unidentified sources, that the company has hired legal counsel with bankruptcy expertise and is seeking to arrange post-bankruptcy "debtor-in-possession" financing in preparation for...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wireless venture LightSquared has reached a deal to end its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but its largest creditor, satellite operator Charles Ergen, is not on board and "wasted the parties' time," according to a report from the court-appointed mediator. The mediator, Judge Robert Drain, said he believed the plan would be confirmable by the Bankruptcy Court judge overseeing the case even without Ergen's support. Drain's report, made in a court filing...

After a half-dozen failed health inspections, missed rent payments and increasing competition in the highbrow food market, gourmet grocer Fox & Obel filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday. The store at 401 E. Illinois St. remains open for now, but its future isn't immediately clear. A call seeking further comment from the store manager wasn't returned. The Chapter 11 filing showed owner Vulpes LLC has assets of less than $1 million with between $1 million and $10 million in debt.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state assemblywoman pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court to entering into a sham marriage to secure U.S. citizenship and lying about her assets when filing for bankruptcy. Gabriela Rosa, 47, who represents a district in northern Manhattan, also agreed to resign from the state legislature, the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. After her plea, Rosa, who was in her first term after her election in 2012,...

Q: I have been unemployed for about a year and still have not gotten a job. I was paying my credit cards until a couple of months ago. My unemployment benefits stopped, and my savings are now gone. I have spoken with my credit card companies and most of them understand my situation. When I could make a partial payment, I did. But I received a collection agency notice yesterday on one of my accounts even though I made some payments to them. Should I file for Chapter 7? The total amount I owe...

(Reuters) - Bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc has emerged as Detroit's chief nemesis in the city's historic bankruptcy case and is fighting as if its financial life depends on a decent recovery on its $400 million exposure to the city. Since Detroit filed the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history last July, Syncora has objected to the city's moves nearly every step of the way - from an early agreement with investment banks over interest rate swaps to...

Calumet Photographic, a Chicago-based camera supply and photo services provider that first opened 1939, has abruptly closed its doors and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Calumet said on its Facebook page that it was closing its stores in the United States, but that its European stores would remain. Some employees took to Facebook and Twitter to express anger over the sudden closure, saying they were not given prior notice. In its Chapter 7...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit is off the hook for $150 million to buy garbage trucks that one resident claimed or to compensate a California man $1 trillion for the loss of nuclear research materials, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ruled on Wednesday. Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing the city's historic bankruptcy case, agreed with the city's objections to claims filed by some individual would-be creditors. The city characterized the claim for $1 trillion by...